This project explores notions of acceptable and unacceptable activities in our context. The building gives back to the community during the day, functioning for the context its located in and shuts down during the night for people outside the immediate community by becoming a space which looks at activities that are considered taboo in our society.

Pakistan Chowk was selected as the site area since it’s a very diverse area with Parsi community, Hindu community, food streets etc nearby.It has a context of being an educational and cultural hub where people of various cultural and religious backgrounds have gotten together in the past. It Is also 5-6 mins away from prominent hotels like Avari. Marriott, PC etc The site Sarnagati building was selected since it is an underused shell and currently does not take or give anything to the city.

The image shows the program within the space for each floor and its transformation at night time, along with the moodboard which gives a glimpse of the dichotomy of the space. A buffer period of 1 hour will allow the day-night transformation to take place.

Ground floor (Eat) day-night plans with day-night rcps. The space is open and porous to the surrounding context at day where the food and beverage trailers serve cuisine from the surrounding context-Parsi,Gujrati and Bohri. It shuts down at night with shutters showing controversial graffiti, with only one access point from Arambagh road. The grid for the tables changes accordingly at night, charpais placed outside flip and showcase paintings by controversial artists which are hung on the wall. The serving side for the food trailers changes while the beverage trailers turn into a bar area and tables now turn into cocktail tables. A bar rack also pops outs, disguised within a voltage box during the day. The ceiling is covered with a sheet fabric during the day but at night, is revealed to show a new set of lights and beams and highlighting the rawness of the exposed ceiling. The windows on each floor change from clear to frosted glass to highlight the idea of blurring and censorship.

Ground Floor (Eat) Day-Night Transformation 3D Views, Shutter graffiti and bar rack detail.

First Floor (Wear) Day-Night plans with day-night RCPs and ceiling detail. An acceptable salon and henna parlor during the day where one is made to look according to society's standards of beauty. The POS turns into a cloak room at night for visitors to shed their first layer and surrender themselves to the space where the control of their appearance is now in their hands. The vanity tables are oriented in a way that the floor pattern becomes your personal runway while the henna parlor turns into a tattoo parlor. The backwash areas mirror panels open up at night to reveal a hidden dressing room where one can experiment with wigs, clothes, shoes etc. The space allows you to transform into your true image-one which is not easily accepted in society.

First Floor (Wear) Day-Night Transformation 3D Views

Second Floor (Speak) Day-Night plans with day-night RCPs and panel detail. The second floor is intended for students from the educational hub nearby and acts as a digital media and coworking space for them with podcast rooms, PC and study tables, gaming area, vending machines, and informal stepped seating. At night it turns into the uncensored library where journals and books which are inaccessible in Pakistan can be accessed, the gaming area is cleared up to form an amphitheater screening space for films and shows by local creatives which are banned/censored/not received well by public masses due to their controversial ideologies which are seen as unacceptable. The podcast room sound panels open up to form a rage room and fresh canvas fabric coverings for people to throw paint and rage against society. The art forms the backdrop for the podcast rooms during the day.

Second Floor (S) Day-Night Transformation 3D Views

Section AA’ Day-Night cuts through all 3 floors from the façade that is visible through Kutchery road. It shows the transformations of furniture, paintings, food and beverage trailers as well as openings and glow in the dark graffiti on the ground floor. The first floor shows the transformation of the vanity table and opening of the dressing room area. The second floor shows the reveal of the projector screen as well as the transformation of the podcast rooms to the rage room.

Section BB’ Day-Night cuts through all 3 floors from the façade that is visible through Arambagh road. It shows the staircase and elevator access. Along with that it shows transformations of the openings and trailers on the ground floor and the pos/cloak room, waiting area and furniture on the first floor. The second floor shows the digital library, shelves and locker area.

Section CC’ cuts through all 3 floors from the curved part of the building to show the triple heighted area. It shows the mirror panels which run along the entire space to show the reflection of the two sides of society and acts as a connecting point for all three floors.

Sarngati - A Spatial Representation of Societal Dichotomy